Rival Bengals, Steelers play nice
Bitter foes careful not to offer bulletin board material ahead of Saturday’s game in Cinci
CINCINNATI— All week long, they played nice. The Bengals and Steelers went out of their way to curb their comments about how they really feel about each other.
Treat it like just a game, forget that rivalry stuff.
“All that stuff’s over when you get into the playoffs,” Bengals left tackle Andrew Whitworth said. “It really doesn’t matter who it is or what division they’re from.” Sorry, nobody’s buying that. The Ohio River rivals have such a deep dislike for each other that they traded nasty words and tweets before they met at Paul Brown Stadium on Dec. 13, and then scuffled on the field during pre-game warm-ups. There were so many personal fouls during the game the league handed out more than $100,000 in fines.
Four weeks later, the only difference is the stakes are higher.
The Bengals (12-4) are putting their 25-year streak of playoff futility on the line against the Steelers (10-6) on Saturday night, trying to do a better job of keeping their cool. They got caught up in the emotion and suffered a meltdown four weeks ago, a 33-20 defeat that basically cost them a playoff bye and their starting quarterback.
Andy Dalton was leading the league in passer rating when he broke his thumb while making a tackle during an interception return. AJ McCarron took over and threw a pair of interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown.
Television monitors in the Cinci locker room this week had the usual schedule of activities, plus a quote from franchise founder Paul Brown: “The key to winning is poise under stress.” Translation: Cool it. And that goes for the Steelers, too. Right tackle Marcus Gilbert tweeted — and later deleted — after the win four weeks ago: “All I want for Christmas is the Bengals. Would love to see them in the playoffs where they choke. The talking is done between the lines.” They’re saving it for Saturday. “We left that behind us,” Gilbert said. Five things to watch on Saturday night at Paul Brown Stadium:
History: Cincinnati hasn’t won a playoff game since the 1990 season, the sixth-longest streak of post-season futility in NFL history. Coach Marvin Lewis is 0-6, tied with Jim Mora for most consecutive playoff losses to start a career. The Steelers and Bengals have met only once in the playoffs, and that was10 years ago when Carson Palmer got his knee torn up on his first pass and Pittsburgh won 31-17. The Steelers are14-3 all time at Paul Brown Stadium.
Big moment: McCarron hasn’t thrown an interception in his three starts in Dalton’s place, leading the Bengals to a 2-1 mark. He won two U.S. national college championships at Alabama and thinks his experience in big games should help on Saturday. History is against him: No quarterback with so little NFL starting experience has won a playoff game since the 1979 season.
Defence: Cincinnati gave up 279 points, the fewest in franchise history and fewest in the AFC. The Oilers won that game in 1979 with an inexperienced QB because Houston’s defence picked off Dan Fouts five times. The Bengals intercepted Ben Roethlisberger three times for a 16-10 win at Heinz Field on Nov. 1.